Lemurknits:There are plenty of intelligent, well spoken, hard working high school and college graduates out there looking for jobs and finding nothing. The people using text speak in resumes and job applications, showing up late to interviews and reeking of weed, and demanding $65k a year as an entry level employee do not represent the majority of Millennials. Most of us are grateful to even have a job. Currently, I tutor high school students. Before that I worked at Rita's Ice, and before that I worked as a canvasser for a charity. All so I could afford to attend grad school and to eat. I have been working since I was sixteen. And to be perfectly honest, I would be overjoyed to be making $25k a year. I want a full time job. I want to be a functioning member of society. Hell, if I was able to I'd be in the Air Force by now(I broke my knee cap in the last semester of my undergraduate education). Please, stop tearing down an entire generation to cover up the tightwad nature of companies who are hoarding money, overworking their current employees, and searching for 'unicorn' candidates that magically appear fully trained in what ever field is needed.

I'll add to that:

Attention companies!!! - Jobs paying $30K-$35K with benefits that start 90-180 days after you've been there, that require 2-4 years experience and a bachelors degree is not "entry level"...that's called a shiatty job with piss poor pay.

Jerkwater:Endive Wombat: When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Yeah, I would have left too, muttering "thank God I didn't wind up working for that asshole...".

/lighten up, francis

Exactly. When you use such random measures for dismissing potential employees you're going to end up hiring randomly as well. I hate working for people that lack basic reasoning skills.

The first time that happened, I pointed to the application and resume, both in text speech, and I told her that I would reschedule, had a busy day full of meetings, apologized and asked her to leave. She called for a week straight trying to get that interview rescheduled. I told her that the position had been filled, her Weeners was "Was it because I'm black?"

Ah, so people show up in person to apply? I was thinking you received resumes via email and was wondering why you would bring them on-site when their stuff was all txty..

Most of the time I would find them on Monster or other resume websites and call them in for an interview. Fun fact: Only about a quarter of the people called in for interviews actually show up.

So I decided from that point forward, interview everyone who showed up, a quick five minute interview and saying "If we decide to hire you, we'll call you." is a better way of doing things than just kicking them out the door. Plus, that five minute interview was the fun one when I knew I wasn't going to be hiring that person: "So, what can you bring to this company that others can't?" "Why was your first job at 17 and not at 16?" "Pretend that I'm a deaf Eskimo, using only words, sell me on yellow snow. I know this isn't a sales position, but I need to know your customer service and ability to up sell."

That made sense for a little while and then it turned kind of weird.

I would do that so they wouldn't even consider reapplying.

One person I said "Okay, this position pays $19,760 a year salaried." (that's $9.50/hour and the position wasn't salaried, no one worked over time in over three years). The applicant shook his head. "And do you have any problems working 60 hours a week salaried?" The applicant said "No." I said "Now, salaried means no over time, no extra money. Your pay doesn't go up that week because you worked 60 hours instead of 40, and we're going to require at least 55 hours a week, but that $9.50 is only based on a 40 hour work week. Is that okay?" The applicant said "Yes." I said "Now, to make this perfectly clear, if you take the job you can't complain that you are basically working 40 hours at $9.50 and 20 for free, because for those 20 hours on the 60 hour work weeks, you aren't getting any extra money. We will expect you to work seven days a week. That means you aren't getting paid for the weekends that we will expect you to work. Are you fine with this?" And he said "Yes." I said, "I'm sorry, you're too dumb to work here if you think that's a fair deal."

Wow you're an ass. Maybe this guy was desperate. I was unemployed for half of last year and I would have taken anything with any kind of paycheck to feed my family and pay my mortgage. I did get a lousy part time job that I was happy to get and was able to pay for food, unfortunately not the mortgage.

Think before you make assumptions and try to make an ass out of somebody, you don't know their situation.

Many employers are desperate to recruit, but say they are confronted by candidates who apply for jobs in 'text speak' and cannot even turn up punctually for an interview, according to the report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

What they really meant was, "It happened maybe once or twice that someone used text speak on a resume". Writing the sentence in that way indicates that it's a common and widespread problem. Which it isn't. Thank you, anonymous Daily Fail Reporter.

Many young people do not read or understand the eligibility criteria for the jobs they apply for, employers said.

If they don't understand a job description, it's largely because the company itself isn't doing a proper job explaining it. Companies often have generic job descriptions to give themselves flexibility as to massage the job to match a qualified candidate. Every company I've worked for does this. Companies expect you to walk into the door and ask what exactly the job entails, because the job description tells you fark-all about what you'll be doing on a daily basis.

Many have a 'poor knowledge' of the company that they are applying to work for, and appear to have failed to research their potential future employer.Others are 'unable to answer why they want the job and what they want to do.'

For somebody with no experience in a particular industry, what exactly do you expect? There's no way a kid fresh out of school can tell you what they'll think of the job, or how their career will progress in a field they haven't even entered yet. And why does anyone want a job, really? Because I don't want to be a farking bum, that's why you nitwit.

OniNeko:The prick hiring managers in this thread are either the most uptight assholes I've ever come across, or the best farking trolls I have ever seen.

I don't think it's trolling, I remember back when I was in high school they brought in a couple HR guys to talk to us about getting a job, one of them was also hung up on absolutely having a pen with you at all times. The other generally brought potential candidates with him to lunch, if they added any salt to their lunch before tasting it first, they didn't get the job.

/Getting the job is as much knowing what makes the person who is interviewing you tick as it is having the right skill set.

Bullsh*t. Employers are just looking for any excuse not to hire younger people, especially those fresh out of college.Why?Because they're such cheap f*cking bastards that they would rather leave a position open for months while the other employees take up the slack, even though someone else is desperately needed, that they don't want to take any time at all to train that college grad. In their perfect world people would be like car parts... one fails, get another one, install it and drive away.People aren't like that, and not giving these potential employees their chance is a waste/really wish they would f*cking hire someone else here//this sh*t is getting on my nerves

Fano:"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Well yeah, because no one would want to work at a place where such jackassery was common.

Seriously.

I mean, I always have a pen in my bag, but I write a lot. If it were a male who doesn't carry a bag, a pen may be impractical. (Do men carry pens everywhere they go? I'd think it would be annoying to shove a pen in your pocket as opposed to a bag or purse that has room for such things....)

But ignoring that, why on earth would you give someone hell for not having a pen? Maybe they brought a copy of their resume and felt that would be sufficient and your attitude chased away an excellent candidate/potential employee.

Endive Wombat:When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Well yeah, because no one would want to work at a place where such jackassery was common.

The first time that happened, I pointed to the application and resume, both in text speech, and I told her that I would reschedule, had a busy day full of meetings, apologized and asked her to leave. She called for a week straight trying to get that interview rescheduled. I told her that the position had been filled, her Weeners was "Was it because I'm black?"

Ah, so people show up in person to apply? I was thinking you received resumes via email and was wondering why you would bring them on-site when their stuff was all txty..

Most of the time I would find them on Monster or other resume websites and call them in for an interview. Fun fact: Only about a quarter of the people called in for interviews actually show up.

So I decided from that point forward, interview everyone who showed up, a quick five minute interview and saying "If we decide to hire you, we'll call you." is a better way of doing things than just kicking them out the door. Plus, that five minute interview was the fun one when I knew I wasn't going to be hiring that person: "So, what can you bring to this company that others can't?" "Why was your first job at 17 and not at 16?" "Pretend that I'm a deaf Eskimo, using only words, sell me on yellow snow. I know this isn't a sales position, but I need to know your customer service and ability to up sell."

That made sense for a little while and then it turned kind of weird.

I would do that so they wouldn't even consider reapplying.

One person I said "Okay, this position pays $19,760 a year salaried." (that's $9.50/hour and the position wasn't salaried, no one worked over time in over three years). The applicant shook his head. "And do you have any problems working 60 hours a week salaried?" The applicant said "No." I said "Now, salaried means no over time, no extra money. Your pay doesn't go up that week because you worked 60 hours instead of 40, and we're going to require at least 55 hours a week, bu ...

That person may just be desperate, or stuffed with advice that says "Say yes to your ability to meet any unreasonable demand placed on you, even if you cannot." Also, in my state's bad economy, it's not that uncommon for a salaried person to work so many hours that the pay works out to less than minimum wage -- and you know what happens if you complain to the Wages and Hours people.

Endive Wombat:When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Yeah, I would have left too, muttering "thank God I didn't wind up working for that asshole...".

Great Janitor:I said, "I'm sorry, you're too dumb to work here if you think that's a fair deal."

Know how I know you haven't been laid off for an extended period of time with no job prospects in sight?... Because that's how my gig goes. Thankfully, the salary's higher than that but it's just as ridiculous for my level of experience.

There are plenty of intelligent, well spoken, hard working high school and college graduates out there looking for jobs and finding nothing. The people using text speak in resumes and job applications, showing up late to interviews and reeking of weed, and demanding $65k a year as an entry level employee do not represent the majority of Millennials. Most of us are grateful to even have a job. Currently, I tutor high school students. Before that I worked at Rita's Ice, and before that I worked as a canvasser for a charity. All so I could afford to attend grad school and to eat. I have been working since I was sixteen. And to be perfectly honest, I would be overjoyed to be making $25k a year. I want a full time job. I want to be a functioning member of society. Hell, if I was able to I'd be in the Air Force by now(I broke my knee cap in the last semester of my undergraduate education). Please, stop tearing down an entire generation to cover up the tightwad nature of companies who are hoarding money, overworking their current employees, and searching for 'unicorn' candidates that magically appear fully trained in what ever field is needed.

When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

Many employers are desperate to recruit, but say they are confronted by candidates who apply for jobs in 'text speak' and cannot even turn up punctually for an interview, according to the report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

god forbid those employers hire anyone for more than minimum wage because it's surprising just how little you get in return for how little you pay them or how little you paid in taxes for their education.

god forbid those employers hire an adult that has expectations of a real living wage in exchange for decades of experience.

A few years ago I managed a store, and while the resumes were fine, the cover letters were an abomination. I recall a couple of "thnx," and "@." Mind you, I think that reality TV is a bigger influence on young people. The whole easy lifestyle and high drama is pretty common. One girl in an interview referred to her "babydaddy." I ended up hiring an old lady in her 60's solely based on the fact she could formulate a sentence.

Well, gee, what industries are glamorized all throughout public culture and have reporters consistently drooling over how much the top stars in those fields make?

Never mind that for every Angelina Jolie, there are 5,000 Constance Browns who you've never heard of, and largely work as waitresses.

But on the other side, can you blame the kiddies who dream of working in culture and sports?

Seeing that industry has largely shown itself to be exploitative of workers, in their salaries and work hours.

Seeing that government has shown itself to be more concerned over 'corporate wellbeing' rather than personal wellbeing?

Seeing that our culture largely ignores working up to something? (IE, you only get famous when you do something, and more often the media treats people like they were born perfectly formed-or discovered that way)

In short, try thinking about how you're shiatting on people's motivations before you go around complaining about their ambitions.

The hourly/salaried disease is spreading. I'm self-employed as a project/program manager, currently on a contract with a "Fortune 10" Big Oil co. Even while on a contract - which is feast or famine work - I'll respond to recruiters. The other day, a recruiter set me up for an interview with a bank (warning signal), and mentioned that I would be expected to work a "professional day". This means, bill for eight hours per day, work ten to twelve. The result is that your billable rate is discounted by X%, depending on how many free hours you work.

I know there are many folks out there who would love to have this sort of problem and my heart goes out to them. I'm sure it won't help you to know that it doesn't get easier. I have made massive investments in developing my career over the past 35+ years, the past 12 years self-employed. Graduate degrees, professional certification, ongoing education, networking, obsessing over the slightest nuance in a resume. It just doesn't end.

I could write pages of anecdotal stories detailing the frustration of dealing with recruiters and clients. The games played by many companies in dealing with human capital is downright atrocious, especially when management struts out the propaganda about their corporate culture and "our strength is our people".

It seemed back three decades ago, perhaps wrongly, that there was a somewhat more sincere compact between business and humans. As the years progressed I saw several times how companies will treat employees when the business environment heads South. While that's just the way the worm turns, it convinced me that being an employee is perhaps the worst way to make a living. An average human selling their labor is unlikely to leverage that into big money, with the exception of outliers such as entertainers, star athletes etc. Salaried employees have no leverage and job protection doesn't seem to exist any more. The obscene flip-side is that money can be leveraged into big money relatively easily.

Endive Wombat:When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Also, I love how you posted this Csb like you were proud of it. Nice pics of your food in your profile as well . /sarcasm

Endive Wombat:When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

Maybe it's an industry thing but that seems a little arbitrary and pointless. I mean, would you show up for a programming job with a keyboard? Bad example maybe, I dunno. Seems a little off.

That said, any resume must be absolutely perfect in terms of grammar and spelling. Any error, even the smallest one, is a big hit. It's only 1-2 pages and it's how you sell yourself so if you can't be bothered to proof read it properly (and have multiple friends proof it for you!) then you're not a good hire IMHO. I tend to let formatting slide but I don't work in an industry where formatting skills are important. If I did it would be a different story.

Great Janitor:Kirzania: Great Janitor: I said, "I'm sorry, you're too dumb to work here if you think that's a fair deal."

Know how I know you haven't been laid off for an extended period of time with no job prospects in sight?... Because that's how my gig goes. Thankfully, the salary's higher than that but it's just as ridiculous for my level of experience.

I've worked hourly, I've worked commission, I've worked hourly plus commission. I've never worked salaried, and I never will. My point of view is that if you're in a job and they are working you for 60 hours, you should be paid for all 60, with 20 at time and a half. My last corporate level job the salaried people were paid their flat salaries and nothing more, but were expected to put in at least 50 hours. I'm sorry, that's wrong.

Of course that's wrong, but you missed the point. When the landlord comes knocking, there's no gas in your piece of sh*t car (if you even have one), and the refrigerator has been cooling nothing but the air inside it for several weeks, you will take what you can get. If it seems like a stupid deal in the long term, it probably is... but in the short term, you have to eat.

If someone chooses eating and a roof over their heads rather than the street and starvation, I'd say that was a smart choice.

mikemil828:OniNeko: The prick hiring managers in this thread are either the most uptight assholes I've ever come across, or the best farking trolls I have ever seen.

I don't think it's trolling, I remember back when I was in high school they brought in a couple HR guys to talk to us about getting a job, one of them was also hung up on absolutely having a pen with you at all times. The other generally brought potential candidates with him to lunch, if they added any salt to their lunch before tasting it first, they didn't get the job.

/Getting the job is as much knowing what makes the person who is interviewing you tick as it is having the right skill set.

The salt one I've heard before, I thought about mentioning it when stating that the pen question was crap. I get the reasoning, it's just arbitrary standards like this take on a magical life of their own. I'm sure if you have to interview dozens of people a day it's helpful to have a heuristic to toss more applications in the round file.

Hermione_Granger:Yes. Young people are unreasonable for expecting a salary that actually covers their bills and student loans and still allows them to eat

Silly students.

Yes, ask them why they didn't plan their academic career around acquiring the skills they would need to land a job that would compensate them enough money to cover their costs. And if their plan didn't make sense, ask them why they went to college.

Endive Wombat:When I used to manage restaurants, we would hire almost anyone. The thought process was this - If you are willing to learn, we can turn you into a fine/upscale dining waiter or waitress. I really did not discriminate based off the clothes they wore, often because they would simply come in for an application and if I or another manager was free, we'd often asked them if we could interview them on the spot. That being said...

If you came in and asked to fill out an application and also asked for a pen...yeah...no, we are not hiring you. I learned this mentality from another manager that I worked with in the past. His philosophy was that to get a job as a waiter, all you really need is to not look like you are strung out and on a week long binger, wear somewhat appropriate clothing, and HAVE A FARKING PEN ON YOU TO FILL OUT THE DAMN APP!!!

So when someone came in for a job application and asked for a pen, we answered this way:

"Why do you not have a pen on you if you knew you were job hunting today? Look, I will give you a pen, I have to let you fill out the application by law, but I can tell you this much, I will not be reviewing your app or calling you back to schedule an interview."

Often they would look confused and ask why, to which we would respond:

"You came in here with the express purpose of filling out a job application, aside from making yourself presentable, your only other requirement is to fill out the app...the fact that you lack the foresight to understand that you need a pen shows me that you are ill equipped to handle even the most mundane of tasks here."

99/100 times they would just leave.

I probably would have filled out the App then made off with the pen. After telling them that "I haven't used such a primitive form of information input in 4 years. I need to take it with me to add to my personal museum of obsolete hardware."

NumberFiveIsAlive:Serpent Sky,Exactly. I need a paycheck. I have 12 years in IT, but I'd be willing to do most other jobs as well if they paid me enough to pay bills, rent, and buy food.

BE CAREFUL.

I'm serious. I've found out recently that even though I went to school for writing and have an extensive background in copywriting, editing, and proofreading, nobody wants to take a chance on someone "making a career change" because I took a job a few years ago to pay the bills. It wasn't my plan to stay here as long as I have, but the market hasn't been good, and it's steady work. I'd much rather be doing what I went to school for, and what I at least get some enjoyment out of, and people act as if I magically forgot how to write copy or edit the written word.

I actually have no idea how to get out of this situation, especially since I'm currently doing legal-type work, but don't have a degree in law (or even a paralegal certificate) and therefore, don't really cut it in moving up in fields that would be less of a "career change."

Thus, be careful when doing "just anything" because I've heard from a few people around my age (mid 30s) that this is a common issue. Recruiters are looking only at what the person is doing NOW, as opposed to the whole resume, and it's really difficult for anyone who basically had to step out of their field in order to pay the bills and keep a roof over their heads. I had a bit of a breakdown on Monday night when I realized I'd probably have been better off going on unemployment when the staff was laid off at my old job, instead of being what I thought was a responsible adult and taking a job to pay the bills. It seems wrong, but that's what's happening, at least on the East Coast.

A portion of every generation is functionally unemployable due to their strict adherence to pop culture elements that go against the main stream norms. How many young men in the 1960s do you think were unemployable due to their long hair, weird clothes, and their knack for saying, "Man" after every statement?

Nothing new to see here, same idea, just a different generation and different pop culture.

Lemurknits:YixilTesiphon: Lemurknits: And don't forget the utterly bizarre rules some enforce. For instance, I applied to work for a non-profit that works to end greyhound racing. I didn't know until the interview that the entire office was vegan. All lunches brought in had to be vegan. The ever living hell?

...Do they know what dogs eat?

They should- they have an office greyhound. Poor thing didn't even lift its head off the pillow so it must have been one of those sad dogs that are forced to be vegan by their humans.

/grew up with dogs//now own a cat///ALL get real meat

Not necessarily. Greyhounds are like giant cats, really. They get just a little bit of exercise every day, and then lie around 90% of the time. It could be he was just old. Racing is also really hard on them, so it could be arthritis and such acting up, it's painful for him to do that.

I'm not sticking up for veganism, but the behavior of the dog isn't indicative of that ;) It's indicative of being a rescued greyhound

NumberFiveIsAlive://Need job in IT. Not expecting 100K/year, but I need to at least be able to make rent and buy food for the family.

Not trying to violate Fark's TOS or anything, but have you checked into TekSystems? They're an IT recruiting agency, they have been SUPERB in my experience. They actually call/follow up/seem to care about placing people. It could just be my local team, but I am really impressed with their efforts. They landed me a position with a good company and got me WAY more salary than I was expecting - which is always nice. :)

Girlfriend's daughter finished high school, no other schooling. She worked briefly as a waitress at a couple of steak houses, did some babysitting for friends of the family. She then decided to get her first "real world" job and landed a job as a dispatcher for a printer repair company. She's making something like 10-12/hour, and constantly complains about how "bullshiat" it is that they aren't paying her more, she should be making 50 grand a year, etc.

Yeah, sweetheart - high school graduates who can answer a phone are SO skilled.

I call shenanigans on that sample text message. This article was written from a British point of view, right? Well, why would they write "eZ" in a text message when they would pronounce that "ee zed" and not "easy"?

Kirzania:Great Janitor: I said, "I'm sorry, you're too dumb to work here if you think that's a fair deal."

Know how I know you haven't been laid off for an extended period of time with no job prospects in sight?... Because that's how my gig goes. Thankfully, the salary's higher than that but it's just as ridiculous for my level of experience.

I've worked hourly, I've worked commission, I've worked hourly plus commission. I've never worked salaried, and I never will. My point of view is that if you're in a job and they are working you for 60 hours, you should be paid for all 60, with 20 at time and a half. My last corporate level job the salaried people were paid their flat salaries and nothing more, but were expected to put in at least 50 hours. I'm sorry, that's wrong.

tortilla burger:Many employers are desperate to recruit, but say they are confronted by candidates who apply for jobs in 'text speak' and cannot even turn up punctually for an interview, according to the report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

What they really meant was, "It happened maybe once or twice that someone used text speak on a resume". Writing the sentence in that way indicates that it's a common and widespread problem. Which it isn't. Thank you, anonymous Daily Fail Reporter.

Many young people do not read or understand the eligibility criteria for the jobs they apply for, employers said.

If they don't understand a job description, it's largely because the company itself isn't doing a proper job explaining it. Companies often have generic job descriptions to give themselves flexibility as to massage the job to match a qualified candidate. Every company I've worked for does this. Companies expect you to walk into the door and ask what exactly the job entails, because the job description tells you fark-all about what you'll be doing on a daily basis.

Many have a 'poor knowledge' of the company that they are applying to work for, and appear to have failed to research their potential future employer.Others are 'unable to answer why they want the job and what they want to do.'

For somebody with no experience in a particular industry, what exactly do you expect? There's no way a kid fresh out of school can tell you what they'll think of the job, or how their career will progress in a field they haven't even entered yet. And why does anyone want a job, really? Because I don't want to be a farking bum, that's why you nitwit.

That last sentence is so true. I overhear interviewers ask "Why do you want to work at McDonald's?" The only conceivable answer is "for the money." Wanting to work a particular job comes with training and experience.

barefoot in the head:PanicMan: Clearly this is all the fault of the young people. In no way are their parents, the schools, or the media in any way culpable.

Cut that shiat. I had a weird and frightening childhood which seriously compromised my abilty to use a good mind in a school setting. It didn't matter. I read everything because I wanted to know everything. Nothing stands in the way of a mind that wants to learn. Kids these days don't even have to walk to the library. Maybe that's the problem - perhaps knowledge seems cheap.

Good for you. Honestly. I had the same thing and did the same thing. But you and I are the exceptions, not the norm on this issue. You assume kids have a library within safe walking distance. Or know where the library is. Or have free time to go read.

profplump:Teknowaffle: 70% of them list "being on time almost everyday" as a reason that they are valuable employees

The article just said that a significant proportion of applicants can't show up on time. Either it's an important skill that contributes to their value as an employee or you don't get to whine about it when they don't show up on time.

She was saying that back when she founded her company, that was just something you did, and didn't expect a farking cookie for it.

I used to do hiring for a company. I hated it. Most people, you call, offering a job interview, they're happy and excited. Some act like it's an honor for me to even speak to them, and want the job interview over the phone. The interviews were fun, mostly. Some applications were horrible. Anyone with text speak on their application were given the five minute and out the door interview.

I'm curious: why would you take the time to interview them at all? The odds of success seem fairly low.

The first time that happened, I pointed to the application and resume, both in text speech, and I told her that I would reschedule, had a busy day full of meetings, apologized and asked her to leave. She called for a week straight trying to get that interview rescheduled. I told her that the position had been filled, her Weeners was "Was it because I'm black?" So I decided from that point forward, interview everyone who showed up, a quick five minute interview and saying "If we decide to hire you, we'll call you." is a better way of doing things than just kicking them out the door. Plus, that five minute interview was the fun one when I knew I wasn't going to be hiring that person: "So, what can you bring to this company that others can't?" "Why was your first job at 17 and not at 16?" "Pretend that I'm a deaf Eskimo, using only words, sell me on yellow snow. I know this isn't a sales position, but I need to know your customer service and ability to up sell."

Everybody knows the best EZ job is being the guy inside the RedBox DVD machines ! You get a TV, and a fridge and all you have to do is push DVDs out the slot ! Just knock on one and yell loudly to them that you want a job over and over again and they will push an application out the slot for you.

PanicMan:Clearly this is all the fault of the young people. In no way are their parents, the schools, or the media in any way culpable.

Cut that shiat. I had a weird and frightening childhood which seriously compromised my abilty to use a good mind in a school setting. It didn't matter. I read everything because I wanted to know everything. Nothing stands in the way of a mind that wants to learn. Kids these days don't even have to walk to the library. Maybe that's the problem - perhaps knowledge seems cheap.

I used to do hiring for a company. I hated it. Most people, you call, offering a job interview, they're happy and excited. Some act like it's an honor for me to even speak to them, and want the job interview over the phone. The interviews were fun, mostly. Some applications were horrible. Anyone with text speak on their application were given the five minute and out the door interview.

I'm curious: why would you take the time to interview them at all? The odds of success seem fairly low.

PanicMan:Clearly this is all the fault of the young people. In no way are their parents, the schools, or the media in any way culpable.

When I was in school (I graduated in 1997), we used a form of short hand for notes to each other as well as for taking notes. In many ways it could be seen as the grandfather of text speech (C.U.L8r for example, or using 4 to mean four, for or fore, so one and so forth). My teachers made it clear that essays (not just in English, but in all classes) were to be written with everything properly spelled out, and some even went so far as to explain that when filling out a job application, abbreviations were rarely accepted, so our short hand wasn't going to be accepted either. I did an essay in the 9th grade for a science class assignment and my dad found it before I turned it in and told me to sit down and redo it. Some of the things he pointed out was "Say 'Half way through...' and not '1/2 way through...'." and others, but that was honestly the only part I remember.

Maybe I was the exception. Maybe the school I went to in Texas did a better job than other locations of teaching students when it isn't acceptable to use any form of text speech. Maybe I had parents who were odd for not wanting me to sound like an idiot when I wrote. Maybe I was odd for remembering what I was taught in school and by my parents and not pointlessly using text speech on important things like job applications.

Who thinks that this is new? Finding literate employees has been an issue for as long as I remember. I managed a record department at an electronics retailer and I remember a guy in the late 70s who brought his girlfriend to an interview, kept his arm around her the whole time, and when I left the room for a moment they were making out. Idiocy among the 20 somethings and under isn't new.

I don't care what the fad or trend or how much time passes and how "advanced" our culture gets.I, nor my company, will never hire you if you come in tattoo'd, pierced multiple times in places other than your ears, if your hair is more than one color, or if it's in a mowhawk or some other outrageous cut...OR...if you think dressing in 70's style polyester clothing complete with WHITE shoes, WHITE belt is cool and hip. Same thing if you wear skinny suits or farkin sandals to the interview.You don't get our jobs!!!

MichiganFTL:I prefer hiring younger people, preferably college grads with little experience to bring into a company where they can start at a front-line position and if they show promise/ambition/drive, there are upwardly mobile options. Problem is, I have to go through 50 applications to find 5 that don't have egregious spelling mistakes, are in 6 different fonts or, my favorite, "Bachelors in Sociology from ::insert local university::, salary requirement: 65k+". Of those 5, 3 blow the phone interview because they obviously had someone write it for them. Then I have a choice of 2 to bring in to meet and HOPEFULLY they don't show up in jeans and a Seattle Mariner's jersey.

/Office has 96% of staff under 30, self included

My step-mother runs a company in DC and she has noticed a change over the 25 years she has run the place. New hires come in with fewer skills, and expect more for less work, and she does work with some very bright people.

Nowadays during their 6 month post-hire review about 70% of them list "being on time almost everyday" as a reason that they are valuable employees and deserve a pay bump.

/she offered me a job out of college. I told her even though I would have been a good fit, I didn't want people thinking nepotism was the only reason I was hired.//then the economy collapsed///still kicking myself

It's working out well so far buddy. It's easier to train people with no experience than to untrain people with bad habits. It's allowed us to move to 6 states and double our workforce in 12 months, so I'm sorry we don't fit into your 'doomed for failure' mold.

I prefer hiring younger people, preferably college grads with little experience to bring into a company where they can start at a front-line position and if they show promise/ambition/drive, there are upwardly mobile options. Problem is, I have to go through 50 applications to find 5 that don't have egregious spelling mistakes, are in 6 different fonts or, my favorite, "Bachelors in Sociology from ::insert local university::, salary requirement: 65k+". Of those 5, 3 blow the phone interview because they obviously had someone write it for them. Then I have a choice of 2 to bring in to meet and HOPEFULLY they don't show up in jeans and a Seattle Mariner's jersey.